Being Kind...

On Saturday I moseyed up to Nashville to take care of a few things around our house and prepare for a friend's birthday party/sleepover. Mike stayed back at our new house to work on the pipes and floor for the weekend. By the time I drove all the way up I was starving, so I ran through the nearest drive-thru. I ordered and pulled up to the window to pay, but the lady just waved me by and said the gentleman in the truck in front of me took care of my order. Someone had paid it forward! Sadly there was no one behind me to keep the train going, but I told her "Thanks!" and waved to the truck as I pulled off. This seriously set me up in a good mood for the rest of the day.

My meal was less than $5, and I had been on the receiving (and giving) end of a RAOK at a drive-thru before, but still, that's truly all it takes. All it takes is being a little more kind than normal to really make someone's day. I immediately spread the good cheer by sharing it on Twitter, and then thinking of how I could pay it forward in the upcoming days.

Being randomly kind doesn't have to cost you any money or be hard to dream up/complete in order to be successful. Amber thought up 160 RAOK for you to use when you just want to give someone a little extra cheer. I've always been a gal who will open/hold doors for strangers, and give compliments in passing when I feel inclined, but since being on the receiving end once more, I feel truly inspired to be a little bit kinder in general. It's really a chain reaction. Just smiling at someone or paying them a compliment could mean that they turn their day around and do the same for someone else. And then so on and so on. Happy is contagious!

I've actually be planning to do 25 Random Acts of Kindness for my 25th birthday for a few months now, but I think I'll be partaking in the 52 Weeks of Kindess (at the very least!). We can do something nice for someone each and every day, but I want to make it a priority to go a little bit father at least once a week.

How about you? Have you ever been on the receiving end of a RAOK? Or how about the giving end? I want to hear about your experiences!

It makes my heart so happy to know that simple kindness still exists. And all it cost that person was a chicken sandwich... but boy, it makes an impact!(photo sources)

I am so in favour of this! I really want to make an effort this year too.

I fell in love with my husband all over again the other day when he tipped a waitress £10 ($16) for our inexpensive meal, just because he knew it would make her day. He is always so kind and generous and inspires me to be like that too!

I am a big fan of the drive through RAOK... in long lines for Starbucks, especially. If one hasn't been started, I'll start one and then hope it continues through the whole line! It's one of my favorite things to do.

p.s. Once I was in a food shop (in England) and a little girl came up to me and gave me £20 ($32) and told me it was a RAOK. I was a student at the time and sighing inwardly at how I was going to pay for my shopping, so it was an amazing surprise! I just regret not doing more to pass it on at the time.

I had some people be really wonderful, it was a time I needed help, but they were amazing. I hydroplaned on the interstate and totaled my car. Almost got hit with a sign through my windshield. I got out of the car all cut up and in shock and nobody stopped to help I was just thinking wow...I'm not sure what to do next. Then two different people stopped one took my shoes off (it was raining and I was a bit bloody) and cleaned my feet and put some shoes on me. She bandaged me up and the other person called an ambulance and it'll really made me grateful. When I thought nobody was gonna stop and help me these people really helped me out and made me feel safe.

Hi!That's such a sweet thing to happen! The other day I was in a store and whilst the man in front was paying he over heard me ask my friend whether there was a minimum card limit. When the cashier told me there was, he said he would buy my skirt for me because I didn't have any change! It was only £2 (it was a thrift store) but it made my week!

how awesome! this idea makes my heart flutter. doing kind things for people feels even better than receiving them. and 25 raok's before 25 sounds like an awesome idea!! i'm checking out amber's link now :)

I feel RAOK are vital when one works with children. Middle school and high school students can be so vicious. Not only do I practice acts in the school, but I have a no tolerance policy in my classroom for anything other than kindness. I go out of my way when it comes to support, compliments, and an overall habit of being a kind citizen. I incorporate this in the subject of social studies, and emphasize how important it is to make this a way of life, rather than just random acts.

I try to give at least 3 compliments everyday during my general public encounters. If I'm ever at a parking meter, I always put in extra coins before I leave too!

I love this. I try to be kind to everyone I see (despite my quick temper and lack of patience...try is the operative word, here). I smile at everyone and open doors, let people go ahead of me in line if they look like they're in a hurry. Simple things like that can lift people's mood, I think.

One of the things I do that my husband finds really strange is keeping a little pad of post-its with me and writing a little thank you to our waiter or writing something encouraging and sticking it on a bathroom mirror somewhere. I know, I'm weird, but there were so many times I was down and just a small gesture like that might have made me smile or stop to think about something good. I don't know if it helps anyone, but it can't hurt to try.

I love this. I try to be kind to everyone I see, even if it's just a smile or holding the door open or letting someone go ahead of me in line at a shop. Try being the operative word here--I have a quick temper and very little patience.

One thing that I do that my husband finds really strange is carry around little post-its for thank you notes to waiters or to write encouraging things on to stick on bathroom mirrors (I'm weird, I know). There have been so many times I've been down and a little thank you or a word of encouragement might have made me smile or stop to think about something positive. I don't know if it has helped anyone, but it can't hurt to try.

I don't have a lot of money to be kind with but..If someone is really nice to me at a restaurant, store or fast food place, I go to the website and send the company a good email about the person. Most people in the service industry don't get that kind of positive feedback and I want to help them get it.

I still need to get into the habit of doing RAOK. I love the long list you linked to, and was so surprised at some of them because I have definitely come across some of them and how awesome were they?!

I love the idea of these RAOK chains! Never knew that it actually has an own name because I come from a rather conservative little village where kindness is taught to you from childhood on. It's something natural that you have to count to your character traits because otherwise the community will hate you haha ;)

I wish there would be more of these RAOK movements throughout the whole world! :)

I do a lot of RAOKs through street art. Some examples I've blogged about are mix CDs, pins, and glasses cases that I've left for strangers to find.http://www.maryhassound.com/2012/08/mix-cds-for-strangers.htmlhttp://www.maryhassound.com/2012/10/a-pin-for-you.htmlhttp://www.maryhassound.com/2012/10/glasses-cases-gifts.html

That is so awesome and sweet. I have been trying to be kind to others more often since I have someone who influences me. This person would do anything from parking a strangers car and always putting a smile on everyone's face that comes incontact with him. He even feeds the birds everyday and it's such a wonderful and loving thing. We should all get into the kind spirit and this post made me want to be kinder more often even more.

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what an awesome story! it's on my list of things to do - i have gotten a free coffee at starbucks before when they messed up an order and gave it to a stranger in an elevatory on the way back to my office. turns out she was going to an interview so i wished her luck. :)

I do this (silly) thing whenever I'm running errands. When I'm checking out at a store, I always smile at the person behind the register and ask them (genuinely) how their day is going. It might sound stupid, but I feel like maybe, just maybe, by being a little extra kind to them for that 1-2 minute period, that they'll have a better day. It's not exactly a random act of kindness, but it's easy and it certainly can't hurt, right?! I also love paying for people's drinks behind me when I'm getting coffee, because I'll never forget the first time someone did it for me. It completely made my day.

I work at Starbucks, and when I worked at a store that had a drive-thru, the whole line paid for the person behind them and it lasted for 32 people before one random guy decided that he didn't want to pay and he ruined it.

This is so nice, I love the thought of being more consciously kind. I'm not always very good at following through with a nice thought. I think I'll make it one of my things for 2013 too.http://ahandfulofhope.blogspot.co.uk/

I am late to the party on this one but hadn't gotten the chance to read this post until now. I work at a coffee shop and we have a drive thru... pay it forward is one of my very favorite phenomenons. It can turn a whole day around for us baristas, especially when it goes and goes and we're busy so it doesn't have a chance to stop. The first time I was a part of it, I cried after. It just feels good when you help other people do nice things for people they don't know.

Thanks for writing about this, seriously kindness is what it is all about. Especially in little places like drive thrus, grocery stores, gas stations, and restaurants.

This is so cute, but I've never heard of anything like that happening here in Germany. I think if you would pay forward at Starbucks, the person behind you would look at you like you are a crazy person... Well, maybe I could do something else... I like the idea of leaving post-it notes that Page mentioned in these comments! And I will check out the 160 acts of kindness for something that would work!- Sandra

how nice! some friends and i dressed up like 50's juvenile delinquents and went ot steak and shake for a birthday dinner and a nice older man paid for all our food! he told to waiter to wait until he left to tell us, but wanted us to know we made his night and reminded him of all the fun he had with his friends in his youth. it made such an impression! i've been trying to compliment people when they are wearing something cute, or have cool glasses or a great haircut. it makes my day when someone else says something like that to me. i need to do it more often!